Special Encore Presentation: Mark Nepo ~ Having the Life You Want by Being Present to the Life You Have

April 7, 2012

Hosted by Marianna Cacciatore

Episode Description

Join your host Marianna Cacciatore as she interviews poet, teacher, and New York Times best selling author Mark Nepo.
A survivor of life-threatening cancer, Mark invites us to lean into life and hold nothing back: “What I have had to face are the great ordinary things that all of us have to face: the prospect of dying without having truly lived, and the prospect of living without having truly loved.”
With the gentle wisdom born of experience, Mark invites each of us to stay present to what is before us; to risk finding the extraordinary in the ordinary; and to open to the love and wisdom that are already present within us. In 2010, Oprah Winfrey featured Mark’s The Book of Awakening on her Ultimate Favorite Things show. Oprah is doing one lesson from The Book of Awakening every morning and invites others to join her: “If we all do it together, we can begin to open our hearts, change the world and begin to have the life you want by being present to the life you have now.”

Bread for the Journey Radio

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Today’s news is filled with stories that break our hearts. On Bread for the Journey Radio, you’ll hear stories that help mend it back together. Join Marianna Cacciatore as she interviews ordinary people who are doing extraordinary things, often small and always meaningful, to make our world a better place.
Some, like Marianna, have suffered a tragedy, and, as a result, have created something beautiful to bring others healing. Others are helping women in crisis, making life better for children living in poverty, greening their neighborhood, or any number of creative things that make their community more beautiful, healthy, and connected.
These women, men and young people inspire us to think about our own lives, and what we can do to make a difference in the world. Their stories become Bread for our Journey, inspiration and nourishment for a life well lived.

Marianna Cacciatore

Most would agree Marianna Cacciatore’s life has been one well-lived. Through her work over 25 years with people who are working to bring about a better world, she has a unique vantage point from which to tell the stories we don’t generally hear in the media today. Marianna possesses the rare gift of presence, a deep listening which evokes in people the desire to tell their story.

Having suffered a childhood tragedy that spiraled downward into her teens and young adult years, she eventually turned things around and created a grief center that has brought healing to thousands of people. She recounts the full story in her book, Being There for Someone in Grief. Today, she serves as a Lifetime Emeritus Board Member of Tu Nidito in Tucson, Arizona, the parent agency for the organization she founded in 1988 called Children to Children, a Center for Children and Families in Grief.

Everyday Marianna meets ordinary people doing extraordinary things through her work as Executive Director of Bread for the Journey, a philanthropic organization with 20 locations nationally. Each volunteer-run chapter practices neighborhood philanthropy in their respective communities, helping everyday people bring their community-minded ideas to life. The Bread for the Journey vision is to nurture the seed of generosity in every human heart and Marianna’s life is a living expression of just that. Join her as she ignites the heart of generosity in you.